Renew Houston leaders backing drainage fee made millions from city of Houston

Thursday, Oct 28, 2010, 04:20PM CST

By Steve Miller

The individuals and firms leading Renew Houston, a ballot measure on a new fee to improve the city’s drainage and streets, have collectively made more than $12 million from the city in the past five years for their work on city projects, city records show.

The payments bolster an argument that opponents of the drainage fee have made --- that the engineers are in it for their own pocketbooks. They say that's one of many reasons voters should reject the fee by voting 'against' Proposition 1 on Tuesday.

“This is an issue driven by engineers who can make more money off the city for the next 25 years,” said Bruce Hotze, a Houston businessman who is part of the political committee No Rain Tax.

But the backers including the most prominent supporter, Mayor Annise Parker, downplayed the interest they may have in the measure, pointing instead at the expertise the engineers have on drainage. This is the most viable plan to address the city's flooding problems, which crop up in some places after the slightest rains, they say.

“I think the argument I hear most against Proposition 1 is that it came from a bunch of drainage engineers,” Parker said. “No duh. Who knows the problems we have with drainage better than they do?"

Renew Houston's leaders and their firms have done extensive business with the city since June 2005, much of it on drainage and streets projects, city records show:

Together, these backers and their firms have given $37,500 to Renew Houston, which has taken in $336,300 total, according to the group's statement of contributions. But an equally strong show of support is the $300,000 they and their firms have loaned to the effort.

Jones said his group is simply telling residents that there is a problem and it will take money to fix it, akin to a doctor telling a sick patient the same thing.

He added that he can't benefit from the new levy, anyway, because he’s retiring in a year or two.

“I will not personally make any money off of this,” Jones said.

But while city accounting records show payments of almost $1 million to his firm, Jones questioned the figures.

“I never made hundreds of thousands working cumulatively for the city,” Jones said. ”We do very little work for the city of Houston.”

In a call with bloggers and journalists Monday, Parker was dismissive about the financial ties of Renew Houston's supporters.

"Yes, it is the same pool of people who do business with the city," Parker said. "Now does that mean it’s not valid, that we don’t need to spend money on drainage because of the messenger? Don’t kill the messenger."

Critics have seized on what they claim is a vagueness on what the fee will be and how the projects would be prioritized. Parker says it will cost $5 a month for the owner of a 1,900-square-foot home on a 5,000-square-foot lot. And the order of repair will follow the city's comprehensive drainage plan, according to the mayor.

"We would do this based on the drainage master plan of the city and driven by priority projects,” Parker said. The projects would also be derived from the city's pavement assessment survey, “where we know the conditions of the streets of Houston and work our way through those streets assisted with the drainage plan.”